GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich added some much-needed staff to his campaign yesterday in Georgia, pulling the sitting governor and two former backers of Mike Huckabee.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal is now serving as the chairman of Newt 2012 in Georgia. The Gingrich campaign also added two former Huckabee backers: state representative Harry Geisinger, a former Georgia Huckabee co-chairman and Reagan appointee, and former Huckabee co-chairman Maria Strollo Zack.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Newt Gingrich when he led the House as speaker,” Deal said in a statement released by the campaign. “In this time of fiscal crisis, only one candidate in the field has a proven record of creating a balanced federal budget — Georgia’s own Newt Gingrich. Newt’s the visionary, solutions-oriented leader we need. Like so many other Georgians giving Newt their support, I consider him a friend, and I’m proud to stand with him in this campaign.”
(Newt Gingrich: ‘I’m not a Washington figure’)
It bears noting that Gingrich was a heavy backer of Deal’s successful 2010 campaign for governor.
Gingrich has strong ties to Georgia. He represented the U.S. 6th district of Georgia for 20 years and also attended college and high school in the state.